1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer-based method of collecting and processing incident reports filed by witnesses who observe incidents such as criminal acts and legal violations. The method automates the collection and processing of the incident reports and automatically sends the incident reports to the appropriate authority so that the observed incidents can be acted on in an appropriate manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Citizens frequently observe criminal acts, legal violations, and other incidents that they wish to report to the appropriate authority or authorities. However, many people do not know who the appropriate authority is or how to contact them and therefore either report the incident to the wrong authority or fail to report the incident at all. Even when people know who the appropriate authority is, they often decide not to report their observations for fear of getting involved in a criminal matter.
The 911 emergency telephone system has been developed in the United States to provide a convenient way for citizens to report emergencies. However, this system is intended for use in emergencies only, not for reporting incidents in general. Moreover, the 911 system is geographically limited in that each city or zone in the country must set up and operate its own emergency phone system. Moreover, 911 systems are expensive to operate because they rely upon human operators. Another problem with reporting incidents by telephone is that witnesses often fail to provide complete information about their observations because they are excited or in a hurry, making it difficult for the appropriate authority to accurately act on the observations.